


Shadow of Myself

by HailHound



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-14
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2020-03-05 15:01:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,915
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18831037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HailHound/pseuds/HailHound
Summary: Starting off, Keith - in the middle of a restoration mission with his Blades turned humanitarian effort post-war - is on a mission on a distant planet doing recon and exploration. He's searching for any viable remains, life forms, or any peculiar objects to take back for further research to the coalition. There is no longer war, but there is always something next. And what comes next will shock him and Shiro, and those around them, for many years to come. But sometimes a shock pushes things into motion and leads to bigger and better things. How will they react to this new addition. It's up to them and only time will tell.





	Shadow of Myself

The crew held position as the ship docked on the destination planet. They were sent on a mission to a distant planet called Tourmeign, which was once home to Galran war-sentry factories and a facility housing many of Haggar’s – or Honerva, as she was, when they defeated her a few months prior – “experiments”. The rear of the ship eased open with a release of pressure and a whooshing noise to reveal a galaxy colored planet. It appeared that on their way into the planet’s atmosphere, they had passed two rings made up of star ashes. They were glowing brightly in the far distance as they circled the planet and turned in its wake. Keith led the party of new, now humanitarian-effort, Blades step-by-step onto the rocky terrain, edging slowly down the angled deck. He took a gradual 360 turn, taking in the land and surveying for anything unusual. To his left was a large building, which looked to have exploded at some point because debris littered the area, along with shattered windows and torn up metal. Within all that, he discovered miscellaneous sentry parts from a mask to a stranded claw. He took this to mean that at least a large portion of the troops stationed on this planet had been taken out and destroyed. But caution was still entirely necessary, so the other Blades were still on high alert. To his right, though, was a dark shell of what appeared to be a lab from the outside. There was no obvious building damage except for the front door sitting off the hinges and instead was laid in two pieces on the floor a few feet out in front of the entryway. There was no sign of movement anywhere and the earlier scan on the ship showed no signs of life or distress. Maybe they really had come to an empty planet… But none the less, they were expected to document this new planet and bring back any abnormal items to the team of ever curious Holts, by order of Kolivan and Krolia. There was just something about that hallow lab though... So, Keith took it upon himself to search and clear his lingering doubts.

“I’m going to check the inside of this lab. The rest of you should head to the factory and see if you find anything. Radio me _immediately_ if there’s a problem or anything you’re not sure of.”

“Copy that, Kogane,” one of the taller Blades said as he took the remaining three members in and over the mess that was now the left-over sentry plant. 

Keith walked over the metal door scrap and in response to his weight, it creaked. He paused to see if anything had sounded off. This entire place may be full of unexpected traps and set up to capture any unwanted guests… guests like Keith. But to his relief, nothing happened, so he took another step, and another, till he was gradually at a walking pace and found himself already halfway inside. There was a faint violet light shining from the lights in the walls, that which mirrored his own violet-lit Blade suit. He was soon met with a deep hallway, where two heavy metal double doors greeted him. He tried to put his hand on the key pad but nothing happened… That was strange. This was a Galra base and he was part Galra. He’d experienced no prior trouble connecting with the tech in any other Galra ship or facility. But wait… Maybe this was a stronger base than they had yet to realize. It was Honerva’s lab after all. It could all possibly be rigged to only Altean blood. Keith was now heavily on guard with this new found information as he pulled his blade out of its halter on his waist. Something big was behind this door and Keith needed every ounce of concentration and readiness before he would attempt forced entry. So, he took a few deep breaths, and centered his body and mind. He was ready for anything now, and with that, he lifted up his now lengthened blade and jammed it into the key pad on the wall. It exploded with a resounding shock and electricity shot up his arm. The full force of the blow through him back several feet where he tumbled to a stop, slamming into a very hard wall. His head was shaking, and he tensed as he hurriedly scrambled up on the ground in attack stance. He barely heard the voice sounding over the communications.

“Kogane!? Keith, do you read?! What was that noise?!” 

With a grunt, rubbing his back where he slammed the wall, he responded with, “Yeah. I’m fine. Just… a little troubled with the security.” But there was nothing afterwards. No smaller traps, no on duty sentries, no floating drones, and no lasers… “Nothing otherwise though… All clear. Anything unusual on your end?” 

“No sir, just a room full of robot parts, giant hunks of metal, and a small crystal here and there. We’ve been collecting the crystals though, as advised for the small one.”

“Yes: for Pidge. Thank you. Well I’m going to head in further.”

“Roger that.”

“Over,” Keith finalized the call and swept off the dirt that speckled his legs and chest. That was going to hurt in the morning. Good thing he’d kept his mask covering or he’d have a chest full of dirt he’d be heaving up for the next eternity. _Well, here goes nothing; couldn’t possibly get any worse than a surprise flight across the room, right?_ Keith, fully ready for _anything_ to happen now, climbed over the shredded doors. They were thick… like it was purposed more to keep something in, not out. He just hoped that whatever was held in here was either moved during the war or was no longer a threat. When the clouds cleared and the mess of the explosion settled, the room came into view. Keith’s eyes widened as he realized what this whole place was built for… what had really been going on in here and on this planet… far out of reach or concern during the calamity that was the continuous war. What he saw made him queasy and unconsciously he brought his hands to his face in disgust. As if he wasn’t sure what he was seeing, in the event that he really needed to clarify what he was seeing, he removed his mask and again was met with awful confirmation. This truly had been a cloning station. A laboratory with the sole purpose of making more copies… These containers that lined the wall were the exact same glass tubes that held the many other Shiro clones that had horrified him during his extraction of Shiro when he’d turned into someone else… something else. The fight that lead to an explosion and the wild conscious return of Takashi, Shirogane. With little joy, though, the tanks were completely empty, barren from whatever resided in them before this moment. Keith’s disgust turned to fury as he walked up to one of them and with sheer force and rage, punched the glass, leaving a growing spider crack in its surface. _Damn that witch… toying with others this way. What if Shiro had been in one of these tanks?..._ His mouth was acid as that thought turned over and over in his head. He was heaving hot angry breaths but when he realized he began to calm himself down again. This was no time to let loose and lose focus. He pulled himself back into gear and straighten up. He let the room sink in, every wall was covered by these tall glass tanks, each one empty, except for a floating counter top at the back of the room, attached on the middle of the wall. Keith was about to ignore it till he caught a glimpse of something shimmering. He walked forward, urging himself further into the fowl room, and was met with a book. The book had gold, shimmery indenting and the pattern on its cover reflected the low light of the room. It was wrapped up in a kind of twine, which Keith curiously toyed with till the book was free of binding. It may have been futile, but he still opened the book to see what was written inside. The writing was a jumble of confusing Altean. But there was one word scribbled at the bottom corner of the next page he randomly flipped to. He knew this word: “child”, it was the word that stood out from all the rest, written in its own section of the page at an angle, almost in a hurry. Whoever had written this had ignored the lines and formalities of the page to messily write out the Altean word for “child”. _Was Honerva experimenting on children? Did her monstrosities show no bounds? She had a child. Surely, she knew what she was doing?..._ Keith had spiraled deeper into himself at the horrific thoughts and images he imagined. He especially felt a soft spot for the child that was possibly tortured here, in this very room. He knew exactly what it was like to be a child alone, isolated from the rest to be shunned, to have their behavior monitored like a feral animal. He admitted he may not have been the best of children… but he wouldn’t wish the adoption system or that treatment on anyone. He closed the journal and turned it over and over in his hands. He would take this back to Pidge. She could decipher it and maybe there were clues in there that needed the help of the Blade of Marmora. They would leave no one in harm’s way, especially not a child. 

He tucked the book under his arm and continued to walk around the room, checking reluctantly inside every clone container, and scanning through each cabinet, drawer, and shelf for anything that should be taken back for observation. This is when he spotted a door. A hidden door – definitely tucked away behind the shelf he just gave a run down. He pulled the shelf out about an inch before sliding it as much as possible to the side, giving room for the door. He got it open just enough to slip inside. This was a weird room though… It was set up like… _a doctor’s office… Why?_ It was super musty in there too. There were vials of something up on some shelves of opened cabinets. There was a fridge, which he opened up to reveal fully preserved drugs of some kind. There were shots and sterile needles in a box on the counter top. Keith continued his search up and down the room, except there was this earie feeling following with him… like a pair of eyes were watching his every move. His hair stood up on the edge of his neck the longer he walked and tried to ignore the feeling. Finally, he refused to linger is the anonymous, possibly imaginary gaze. Maybe he’d hit the ground harder than he thought when the explosion happened? Except it wasn’t a gaze unknown to him... He turned around to the biggest shock he’s ever experienced his life. _How could he not have noticed her, sitting there?!_ Sitting there on a doctor’s table, small little legs hanging off the edge in utter silence, was a little girl… with that same strong grey gaze… A little girl. A little girl who looked… exactly like Shiro. 


End file.
